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Home | Producers | J. Christopher | J. Christopher 2011 Pinot Noir Cuvée, Dundee Hills
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J. Christopher 2011 Pinot Noir Cuvée, Dundee Hills
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Item Number: 7016
UPC: None
Country: USA
Region: Oregon
Sub Region: Willamette Valley
Appellation/AVA: Dundee Hills
Vintage: 2011
Grape(s): 100% Pinot Noir
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750ml Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 13
Soil Type: Red Jory clay
Case Production: 1,026
This cuvée is a blend of selected barrels from several excellent vineyard sites in the red Jory clay of the Dundee Hills AVA. It shows the depth and power that are typical of this area, and makes a very interesting comparison to the “Nuages” cuvée from the rockier soil of the Chehalem Mountains AVA. The 2011 vintage includes barrels from Bella Vida, Baptista Maresh, Charlie’s, Abbey Ridge, Gehrtz and Meyer vineyards.
Pinot Noir Clones: Pommard, 115, Wadesnwil, 667, 114, Coury
Age of Vines: 9 to 30 years old
Vineyard Management: Sustainable; dry farmed
Vinification: 100% destemmed; 2.5 ton fermenters; native yeast; unforced malolactic fermentation; maturation for 20 months in barrel (25% new, 25% one-year, 25% two-year, 25% three-year)
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J. Christopher 2011 Pinot Noir Cuvée, Dundee Hills
Rating: 90
The J. Christopher 2011 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Cuvee unites fruit from, most prominently, Bella Vide, Baptista Maresh, Le Pavillon, and Abby Ridge, being as such a reflection of the prime Worden Hill Road stretch. There are a thousand cases, three times what there were of the previous vintage, marking this bottling as – along with the generic Willamette cuvee – the core of the J. Christopher program. Almost stridently bright in its evocation of sour cherry, red currant and rhubarb, this is strongly shadowed by high-toned kirsch distillate, lemon oil and sealing wax. An undertone of dried blood and iron-rich tonic of some sort seems to mysteriously creep in here as well. And amazingly, there is a fine sense of textural richness running parallel to all of the energy and tart acidity on display, and a finish of impressive, penetrating persistence as well as sheer refreshment. “I tried out a lot of blends, and tasted the wines for hours and hours each time, trying to get this a bit more forward and approachable,” says Somers. “But I kept coming back to this (blend). And for me this is what Dundee was in 2011, and the whole purpose of my A.V.A. series of wines is to capture the A.V.A. in that vintage.” I suspect this will prove deliciously versatile through 2018 if not beyond.
- The Wine Advocate (10/31/2013)
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